Advices for a burger restaurant

Hello Veeky Forums,I live in an european town and i wanted to open an American restaurant where i could cook burgers, fries, make milkshake, donuts, you name it.It will be influenced by your street food culture (i love ny's food trucks) and fast foods like shake shack.

I have a few questions:1) what are your favourite american "street food" items ?2) Can this make me some big money ?

Also if you have experience about the subject, please tell me your story

2. I suppose it could go either way. So many factors including local tastes, business location, laws and regulations, taxes, etc.

15 months ago

Techpill

@iluvmenFrance. My town is full of hipsters and high schools. I think there's money to bé made

15 months ago

Methnerd

why would you do this

whenever i'm in yurop i look for the nearest mcdonalds anyway

15 months ago

PackManBrainlure

@Playboyize Hot dogs arent big here ! I will take a look though. Also, which one is best : pork sausage or ny beef sausage ?

15 months ago

SniperGod

@PackManBrainlureI prefer beef sausage, but again, it boils down to preference. If hot dogs aren't big where you're at, maybe it's not the best choice. Although hipsters like to be "different", so maybe it's a sleeper hit. But definitely explore other options.

15 months ago

BlogWobbles

Also, gourmet grilled cheese has become a thing. Check out this place: http://meltbarandgrilled.com/It's also in Columbus like Dirty Frank's. There are a lot of good examples of hipster fast food in Columbus.

15 months ago

AwesomeTucker

@BlogWobbles Thank you for your advices, i really appreciate. Also, i was thinking of kinda copying the menu of the "Halal Guys" with the famous $6 full plate. Cheap, good, and easy to make food ! Not sure of keeping Halal though ! What do you think ?

15 months ago

New_Cliche

@MethnerdWould you go to another place if they charged you 5€ for burger and fries ?

15 months ago

whereismyname

@TechpillWhat makes you think that French people would want to have greasy garbage? There is a reason this isn't popular around here.

15 months ago

Raving_Cute

@whereismynameEverybody loves kebab here because it's good and cheap. Just because it's in France doesn't mean everybody is healthy

15 months ago

Lunatick

Also, i'm noticing a new trend in Paris fast foods are getting mire and more popular

What are you, 15? You clearly have no clue what you are doing if you think kebab is the world. Idiot.

15 months ago

5mileys

Don't know the market in Europe but if you want to sell a lot of food it has to be tasty, cheap and aimed at poor neighborhoods where most people don't give a shit at what they eat. Works really well in the states.

15 months ago

takes2long

@AwesomeTucker I think the Halal thing looks pretty good. Like I said, put some good research into local preferences and go with it.

However, if you're planning on doing an American style theme, I don't know if you want to throw kebabs into the mix-- that might come across as unappetizing. I'd pick one or the other so you have a strong theme that gets across what your business is about.

You also want your atmosphere to be appealing in some way differentiate yourself, especially if marketing to a younger hip crowd.

And, of course, pick a good location for your business. That could make you or break you before you even open your doors

15 months ago

Bidwell

@happy_sadI'm not a fan of kebab. What i meant was that ppl will buy anithing as long as it's cheap anf it tastes good.Everytime i hang out, i see crowded kebabs. If you don't agree with me, then, what are the restaurants that make more money in your opinion ?

15 months ago

massdebater

@5mileysExactly ! Also, i want to steal the "kébab audience" as i always see high school students going there to eat because it's cheap as fuck

15 months ago

Playboyize

I exclusively invest in the restaurant industry and have worked in food service as well.

Beef prices are through the roof, but if you can market well and to the right people, it does not matter. Chicken is cheaper, but harder to make well. A good marinate and good seasoning goes a long way.

Simplicity is most important, though. Limit your menu to a few items that go well together and master them.

Sell alcohol and other drinks, as the markup for that should subsidize better quality food. Drinks and sides will be your most important items, meat (other than chicken) usually has too low of a profit margin to support the restaurant. Good entrees should get the customer in the door, but drinks will keep your restaurant open. Consider peanuts or salty seasoning to keep diners thirsty. As a European you're lucky that you can charge for water.

Labor costs are the only thing you can seriously cut. Customers usually can tell what food is good and what food is not, so you need to strike a healthy balance.

Have a clean restaurant, don't expect to make a profit for a few years, and expect to work 12 hour days.

15 months ago

Deadlyinx

@takes2longAbsolutoy right ! I'll get a lot of debts while desiging the place but it'll worth it. I will try to make this place comfy and i want it to remind a new York street ! Anyway, about the Halal Guys, i saw that everybody copied it in ny so i Can try to sell it using another name !

One more thing about labor: you can cut labor, but you need to maximize the output of your staff. Drill into your employees "if you can lean, you can clean", but always motivate them by saying there is a chance for promotion (however, never actually promote them).

15 months ago

PackManBrainlure

@DeadlyinxOh sorry btw my french autocorrect fucks up everyrhing i right

15 months ago

Burnblaze

@Playboyize Once you have the show running to where you want it to be read the e-myth revisited.

15 months ago

Flameblow

@MethshotFirst of all, thank yoh for your advices !Beef will be a key ingredient of course so i'll try to find a reliable source of beef.I'm not a drinker but i'll sell alcohol if that brings money. Do sodas bring as much money ?

If you want to cut on labor costs, a good solution is to have small menus on the tables where customers can tick ingredients and make their personal hamburger. It's not that much work for the kitchen and it markets well.

Try to differentiate yourself from all those burger joints nobody ever sets a foot in, you need a clean venue that looks more like a restaurant than a Kebab, no disgusting photos of burgers on the walls, try to attract a more sofisticated clientele than Mcdo and such.

15 months ago

RavySnake

@TalkBomber Well, in my town, there are two kinds of burgers:-Kebab tier burgers with dirty spots held by pakis (they have the guts to sell their burgers 7-9€)-Stupidly expensive burgers, who eats 15€ burgers ?

I think i'm gonna be the first one to sell good cheap burgers ! Also, i'll make sure that the restaurant "looks/feels like new york" if you know what i mean.

15 months ago

TurtleCat

@haveahappydayMurrican here, they have a deep fried kiosk at my mall. I bought the fried Oreos and cupcakes. It made me sick.

@Playboyize @MethshotJust out of curiosity, how do you go about pretending to promote people, is it something you just never do, and the employees put up with (would cause people to leave over being motivated to my mind, but I don't work in the industry) or do you offer pointless sidemotions or something?

...but don't French people hate America because we declared war terror, and the average Frenchman is of terrorist ancestry? Maybe you should start an all beef halal faux-Canadian Bacon shop. Canadians love brown murders, and brown murders love them.

15 months ago

Nude_Bikergirl

@BinaryManWell my tolerance to fried stuff has also gone down as a whole. I used to be able to eat McDonald's no problem but now it gives me a slight stomach problem and a headache. I don't know how it is in your area but the people who can handle might be good customers, unless they are health-conscience.

Also targeting students is risky unless you have a prime location. If actively do promotion and can't handle the traffic, you damage your reputation and likely not retain customers, if there is not enough people, you got too much capacity....

How much money you got? You need to be able to afford losing money for a good 8 month for this to be achievable imo

15 months ago

Methnerd

@takes2longI've been eating healthy and that was an off-snack, so probably. I guess I need a tolerance for fried shit to not give me stomach cancer.

15 months ago

Carnalpleasure

Offer avocados. Like a fucking extra dollar to put on half an avocado on the burger. Hell maybe even charge two dollars.

Like do 2 extras for 3$. From the followingavocadoextra cheesebacon

15 months ago

Evilember

@lostmypasswordI plan on borrowing money to the bank, which means i'll be in debts and won't profit until a few years.

If you want to borrow money, you'll need a detailled business plan, this include positioning yourself on a segment of the market you know there's demand and having cash flow forecasts etc.. You still got a lot of a ground work to do that will be an important factor in all the strategic decision you'll have to make.

15 months ago

StonedTime

@happy_sadAre you being intentionally obtuse ie are you just some kind of huge asshole? The frenchfag never said "kebab was the world", he's correctly pointing out a shifting trend in popular eating habits where a middle ground is opening up between traditional restaurants and bottom-rung shit like McDonalds.

Or do you suppose that French people eat nothing but baguettes and cheese all day?

@FlameblowAnecdotally I heard that McDonald's makes some of its biggest mark-up on carbonated drink. The syrup is cheap, they serve it considerably more watered down than you'd get in a bottled or canned soda, and they further fool the customer by making their cups half ice by volume (by law they have to serve a set volume of liquid, but the ice artificially increases the container size).

Not sure if alcohol is quite as lucrative.

15 months ago

Crazy_Nice

@NojokurI think i'll only sell non-alcoholic drinks after all ! That's a pretty cool fact though, i never knew that sodas were that important

@RavySnake A seven euro burger is cheap€15 isn't a fucking scamHoly shit yurop. Get your food situation in order. Cheap american burgers are a dollar or two. Good ones will set you back maybe $6. I have never in my life seen a $16 burger outside of a fair.

OP, if you just want the kebab crowd just buy the cheapest shittiest beef you can find. 70/30 is almost too fancy. Your customers won't care what it tastes like and its a foreign novelty food. If you are going to target people actually looking for something that reminds them of a NY food truck then yeah, make sure you get the flavor right above all else. Take a trip to America just to spend another week eating and hopefully getting someone to teach you what's what. It'll seem dumb and obvious to them but it's the little things you might miss.

Don't just toss it at your customers either once you start. Ask them what flavors they like about the food and don't be afraid to offer something a little less authentic if it will appeal to the locals. Feedback is a gift.

15 months ago

haveahappyday

@Crazy_NiceProbably a smart move. Getting an alcohol licence is a huge pain in the ass and an added expense. Were you going for an eat-in or takeaway model, by the way?

15 months ago

Sharpcharm

@viagrandadI really like your idea of asking the customers for feedbacks ! Also i think i wrongly explained my point. I wanted to mean that kebab served discusting burgers for more than 6 euros (worse than McDonald's trust me) and fancy restaurants served fancy bugers(that are too expensive so the only people who'll buy it are first timers who just want to test it). Nobody in my town serves burgers with both great quality and great price ! But i really enjoyed reading your critisism because i found it really interesting

15 months ago

TalkBomber

@haveahappydayThat's an interesting question. In new York, i usually ate the street food in the street and not indoors. However, i think that ppl here are more confortable eating indoors so i may buy a place where the customers can seat !

15 months ago

Methnerd

@EvilemberAvocados are not cheap typically. But it's a big fad right now and I love them. Do you want a different excuse to change 1.50$ on the price of a burger?

Online ordering would be cool too. Local chain here has online ordering but they are usually out of avocados. Which has me going to a different burger joint now.

first protip: capitalize on the "american" part of it, make a triple cheeseburger with bacon

1) what are your favourite american "street food" items ?around me all the street food is served to mexicans at 3AM, its just shit like pizza and burgers with jalapenos on it 2) Can this make me some big money ?loads of it

also serve deep fried twinkies, oreos and candy bars. They will go nuts for it

15 months ago

Nojokur

I like Deep fried Butter.Make That

15 months ago

girlDog

The secret to a great hamburger is knowing your customer. I have great recipe we have been using at home for years, I also have a great recipe for a cheese samich too. Is there a way to email them to you

15 months ago

SniperWish

@Sir_Gallonhead1) what are your favourite american "street food" items ?chicken wings, hotdogs, gyros, curry, tacos, burritos, kebab skewers, donuts, chinese noodles and beef/chicken2) Can this make me some big money ?resterant profit margins are notoriously thin, you wont make money for 2++ years, and theres a 50% chance youll lose everything in the first yearbut thats in america, idk if restaurant risk is the same in other countries

15 months ago

BlogWobbles

@PackManBrainlurewhatever these areor go with brats instead of hotdogs, they are meatier and more tastey (they shaped like a short fat hotdog)